MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - It takes a little bit of work to find the Northaven neighborhood in Shelby County. That’s the way people like it. Northaven folks will point with pride at their new fire station; they’ll tell you how strong their neighborhood is. They won’t talk about the illegal trash dumps that seem to pop up in their neighborhood like mushrooms after a good rain.
They don’t surprise Shelby County Commissioner Terry Roland. “If you look at a map,” Roland says, “…you’ll find most of the dump sites are along the Shelby County and Memphis City border.”
If you live in Shelby County, you’ve got to figure out a way to get your trash collected. It’s not difficult. There are four or five companies that do the work, and the price runs around twenty bucks a month. Almost 90 percent of the people who live in the county get their trash collected. There are also plenty of laws on the books concerning illegal trash dumps. Too bad, Roland says, they’re rarely, if ever, enforced. “I looked back,” he says, “…and we’ve only had one prosecution in five years.”
Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell has been looking at possibly having the county get into the trash removal business. The idea has left most folks totally underwhelmed.
Roland says people might end up spending more money while not getting good service. He will bring up ideas to put in small cameras on dump areas, to arrest those illegally dumping in the county. He wants to use inmates to clean up the dump sites. “It won’t cost taxpayers nearly as much as this other plan,” he says.
Roland says he’ll make his plan official at County Commission Committee meetings next week.
